Senior Counsel- Intellectual Property USA

First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.

Basic Job Functions:

We are seeking a skilled and strategic Senior Intellectual Property Attorney to join our growing legal team and play a pivotal role in safeguarding the company's innovations. This role reports to our Chief Intellectual Property Counsel. Responsibilities will include a wide range of intellectual property and transactional matters with a focus on building our patent portfolio, driving transactional matters with deep understanding of the business goals, partnering with technical teams on complex IP issues, and offering risk-based advice in the context of our business needs. A successful candidate will have excellent business judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle multiple complex tasks.

Education/Experience:

• J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school with a license to practice in one or more jurisdictions.
• Registered U.S. Patent Attorney.
• Technical degree (B.S., M.S., or Ph.D.) in electrical engineering, physics, or related field with the ability to become well versed in new technologies.
• At least 6-8 years of experience in patent law, including drafting and prosecuting patent applications, assessing freedom to operate, and transactional IP work.

Required Skills/Competencies:

• Demonstrates a continuous improvement mindset by (identifying and/or contributing to improvements in specific processes, systems, or workflows).
• Apply Kaizen principles by (participating in, leading, or supporting improvement initiatives, events, or problem-solving activities).
• Exhibits a learning mindset by (seeking opportunities to expand knowledge, develop skills, and stay current in relevant areas).
• Leverages technology, including AI and automation tools, to (enhance efficiency, decision-making, analysis, or operational outcomes as applicable to the role).

• Shows curiosity and adaptability by (responding to change, adopting new tools/processes, or supporting innovation initiatives).

Essential Responsibilities:

• Offer strategic guidance to internal stakeholders on making informed and risk-based decisions regarding intellectual property issues.
• Develop and grow a technologically challenging patent portfolio. Partner with technical teams to identify and harvest intellectual property assets. Search, understand, and explain complex inventions at the Patent Committee and make recommendations in the context of our business needs and product development goals.
• Assess the competitive IP landscape and provide guidance to business leaders.
• Draft and negotiate complex IP agreements and other agreements having IP sensitive provisions. Partner with members of development engineering, global supply chain, manufacturing engineering, and other company associates to assist in the company's efforts to develop, acquire, and sell IP assets.
• Advise the business as an expert on all aspects of IP (patents, technical data, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks) regarding strategies, enforcement, protection, avoidance, and collaborations.
• Manage outside counsel during the drafting of patent applications to create a strong and defensible patent portfolio. Drafting patent applications may also be part of the responsibilities of this position.
• Provide strategic and cost efficient management for a large patent docket of intellectual property assets.
• Provide advice on a wide variety of intellectual property topics for the engineering and business teams, including assessment of specific IP assets and the potential impact on business outcomes.
• Other duties as assigned
• Job description subject to change at any time.

Reporting Relationships:

• This position will not have direct reports.

Travel:

• 10% - 20%

Estimated Salary Range:

• $140,000- $215,000 Annually

US Physical Requirements:

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. To best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. First Solar is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.

Potential candidates will meet the education and experience requirements provided on the above job description and excel in completing the listed responsibilities for this role. All candidates receiving an offer of employment must successfully complete a background check and any other tests that may be required.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: First Solar is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our company.